Nieuw Amsterdam 12 day Mediterranean Empires

[tomtal]

Just returned from above cruise and all I can say is 'wow!'. What a cruise. The ship is beautiful and kept gleaning by the crew. HA crew are always very special but I cannot say enough about those on this ship. Always smiling, always helpful. Our cabin was kept scrupulously clean by Putu and Herman who were wonderful. (Incidentally, we had the 'secret' cabin and the 18 foot balcony was a plus, plus, plus). We thought the food was way above that on other cruises we had been on. Went to the Pinnacle Grill on the last night where the service was excellent but, to be honest, the dining room was extremely good too. We were on 'any time' dining which again went smoothly - we never had to wait for a table and as we like to share, had really fun evenings - our companions were Americans, Canadians, Australians and Dutch so some great discussions were had. Room service for some breakfasts was on time and everything was as ordered. We went to the shows every evening after losing our money in the casino - being British, we are the last of the big gamblers - $20 per day - and found them quite entertaining on most occasions. Anything we didn't like? Yes - the colour of the carpet but that is personal taste. Oh and my last bag of laundry came back on hangers instead of folded - ugh, my own fault as I had ticked the wrong box! Had to fold it all for packing but that was OK - just blamed my husband!!!! We have been on 8 cruises to date - 4 on HA - and this, together with the QM2 translantic crossings were my favourites. I will leave others to talk about the tremendous ports of call as I now get back to everyday life.

[DiploTraveler]

Just returned from above cruise and all I can say is 'wow!'. What a cruise. The ship is beautiful and kept gleaning by the crew. HA crew are always very special but I cannot say enough about those on this ship. Always smiling, always helpful. Our cabin was kept scrupulously clean by Putu and Herman who were wonderful. (Incidentally, we had the 'secret' cabin and the 18 foot balcony was a plus, plus, plus). We thought the food was way above that on other cruises we had been on. Went to the Pinnacle Grill on the last night where the service was excellent but, to be honest, the dining room was extremely good too. We were on 'any time' dining which again went smoothly - we never had to wait for a table and as we like to share, had really fun evenings - our companions were Americans, Canadians, Australians and Dutch so some great discussions were had. Room service for some breakfasts was on time and everything was as ordered. We went to the shows every evening after losing our money in the casino - being British, we are the last of the big gamblers - $20 per day - and found them quite entertaining on most occasions. Anything we didn't like? Yes - the colour of the carpet but that is personal taste. Oh and my last bag of laundry came back on hangers instead of folded - ugh, my own fault as I had ticked the wrong box! Had to fold it all for packing but that was OK - just blamed my husband!!!! We have been on 8 cruises to date - 4 on HA - and this, together with the QM2 translantic crossings were my favourites. I will leave others to talk about the tremendous ports of call as I now get back to everyday life.

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise. We'll be in the N.A. in November and I hope we like it as much as you did.

 

Can you make a quick statement about the itinerary? I'm considering this cruise for next year vs. the 12-DAY MEDITERRANEAN TAPESTRY.

[kazu]

Thanks for your posts. Sounds like you had a wonderful time :D:D Nice to hear:)

[portofrome]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thanks for your report.

[tomtal]

A few words on the itinerary.

 

Venice - been there several times before so took a 2 hour cruise around the islands. Venice is spectacular and am happy to spend many hours there - but beware 17 euros for 2 cafe latte.

 

Split - personally didn't find it too interesting. Went to the market and wandered around the port and then back to ship. However, spoke to people who really liked it.

 

Athens - took ship's panoramic tour. Didn't climb the Accropolis but had photo opportunities at the base. Coach stopped at souvenir shop for comfort stop (we had only gone an hour!) and it took 45 minutes or so before we were able to continue the tour. There was a taxi strike that day so it was lucky we were able to go with ship's tour but if possible I would suggest a private tour.

 

Istanbul - how I loved this city. 2 days and still not enough time. We will go back for sure. Took cruise on Bosphorus and then next day tour of Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar etc. Again time was wasted (for us) on having to go to a carpet factory - would certainly have been somewhere else than that!

 

Kudasaki - didn't go to Ephasus but those who did loved it. Went to Grand Market - would have been cheaper to go to Ephasus. Bought 2 wonderful leather coats, shirts, scarves, genuine fake Rado watch (!!), etc. etc. (memo. to self - must go back soon!).

 

Mykonos - great day at St John's Resort. Ship arrived early and I 'phoned them and they met us 2 hours earlier than arranged. Beautiful pool and small beach. The returned us to town when requested (early evening) and wandered around a bit before returning to ship.

 

Santorini - spectacular. Took ship's panoramic tour which was pretty good. Next time will go by ourselves but for the first time, we like to have a guide to show things we would not see otherwise. Didn't go on donkeys - felt they certainly didn't need my weight!

 

Kotokolon - didn't go to Olympia - been before - but just wandered around port, had coffee and just lazed in sun and people watched - great.

 

We chose this part of the cruise as we have been to many of the ports on the next 12 days. If I lived across the pond, I would really suggest that the 24 days is really considered.

 

Any further questions, please let me know.

[tjcox9]

A few words on the itinerary.

 

Istanbul - how I loved this city. 2 days and still not enough time. We will go back for sure. Took cruise on Bosphorus and then next day tour of Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar etc. Again time was wasted (for us) on having to go to a carpet factory - would certainly have been somewhere else than that!

 

Thanks for the info on the ports. Just curious if this Bosphorus cruise was a ship's tour or independent.......

 

[ninkb]

. . . for your comments. I'll be on this cruise in the spring and am hungry for any info I can gather. I try to read through the appropriate roll calls, but the posting here is so much easier and also allows other to consider this great itinerary.

 

My biggest question: How can HAL change 45 min. potty stops when the excursion involves a busload of passengers . . . some of whom are very slow? It's my biggest reason for NOT taking HAL excursions. :(

[Grandma Gilly]

Tomtal. Thank you for your great review. We are booked on this ship and itinerary next summer. We are also from the UK and have been to most of the places before, including Mykonos but don't know about St Johns. Can you elaborate please?

Regards Gilly.

[ssmi01]

We've just returned from this cruise too and had a great time! The overnight stops in Venice and Istanbul were very nice. We also did the evening cruise down the Bosphorus and loved it. Split was nice (apart from all the graffiti). We did the Mestrovic Gallery, Solin & Trogir excursion. If you like ancient Roman settlements I would recommend it. We also visited the cathedral in Trogir (I think it was St Lawence) and I just about had enough energy in the sweltering heat to climb up to the bell tower to see the fantastic views.

 

We did an excursion every day apart from Santorini when I felt a bit under the weather, which I think was just down to too much air conditioning. That didn't stop us visiting the jewellery shops in the afternoon and me going a bit mad with my credit card. I thought I'd do my bit to help the Greek economy! The holiday itself was probably on a par with our cruise last year on Ruby Princess. Some elements were better on NA and vice-versa. We were surprised that not once did we have to wait for a table for 2 in Manhattan. However, each time we went there (and Lido) it seemed one of us either had dirty cutlery and/or glasses (the sort of dirt that remains when you haven't pre-rinsed or run the dishwasher for long enough), and my partner had an unidentified piece of plastic in her meal one evening so that was disappointing. The staff were all very polite and cheery though. We spent a fair amount of our evenings in Northern Lights. DJ Issa is a top bloke and he managed to cater for our 'louder' musical tastes.

[tomtal]

The cruise on the Bosphorus was a ship excursion - very good.

How I agree about the potty stop. To be honest, I felt the tour operator had some connection with the souvenir shop where the cloakroom was situated - might just be my nasty mind but......... I do know that a queue soon forms and as it was only about an hour out, I think that it may be something to do with sheep!!! I cannot believe that number of people really needed a potty stop. However, the shop probably had a good deal.

As far as St John's is concerned, this was an arrangement I made myself. I emailed them and asked for a day pass - 30 euro per person to include use of chair, umbrella, all the facilities, together with pick up and return to the port. They have a very nice restaurant where you can have lunch or a snack by the pool. Not cheap but good. Look up St John's Resort, Mykonos. They do not tell you about the day pass but if you email them, they will send you a form to complete. A very good day to chill out.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

[eh2zed]

Glad you had yet another good time Keith and Pam. Looks like the 2 of you are still going strong. We are off next month on a Panama on the Statendam. Keep in touch.

[SAC60]

Glad you had a wonderful time! We're going on the same itinerary (Kotor instead of Olympia) July 18, 2012. Anyone else? If you can share anymore details, would love to hear some more! Thank you!

[erewhon]

Thank you for your reports.

 

Pleased that you had such a good time.

[Grandma Gilly]

As far as St John's is concerned, this was an arrangement I made myself. I emailed them and asked for a day pass - 30 euro per person to include use of chair, umbrella, all the facilities, together with pick up and return to the port. They have a very nice restaurant where you can have lunch or a snack by the pool. Not cheap but good. Look up St John's Resort, Mykonos. They do not tell you about the day pass but if you email them, they will send you a form to complete. A very good day to chill out.

 

Thank you so much for this information

 

Gilly

[Grandma Gilly]

Glad you had a wonderful time! We're going on the same itinerary (Kotor instead of Olympia) July 18, 2012. Anyone else? If you can share anymore details, would love to hear some more! Thank you!

 

Have you joined our roll call?

Gilly